Middle Eastern cooks know how to chill. But so much of their inspired desert cuisine is chock-full of wheat. Couscous and tabbouleh were favorites of mine before my innards decided that gluten was my dietary Kryptonite.

Luckily, I have lots of company in avoiding gluten, and I live on Colorado’s Front Range, where you can’t swing a big baguette without hitting a health-food store (or chain grocery) willing to supply you with prepared or semi-prepared gluten-free food. But I haven’t seen a tabbouleh mix among them yet.

And oh, the places it’s led me. One of those places was plunking down a check to buy a CSA share from Native Hill Farm and farmers Nic Koontz and Katie Slota. You remember them from the Farmers of the Front Range calendar, the one that made them locavore pin-ups. The above photo is from their CSA shareholders’ welcome potluck, where I got to eat that pretty salad and some pork green chili and goat cheese and local salsa and a ton of other good things.

And when I got an email that they’d have some more greens at the Farmer’s market that Saturday, I went. And I kind of lost control. A bag of pea shoots. A bag of arugula. A bag of spinach, a bag of dinosaur kale, a bag of gorgeous purple lettuce. That’s five, count ’em, five, bags of greens. And then, because so many other bags of greens have gone liquid in my fridge lately, I gave myself the challenge of eating (or sharing) all those bags in seven days.

The original location in Cherry Creek has been open for two years and has become a popular spot, thanks to a top-shelf breakfast and lunch menu. The major drawing card is the house-made infused syrups, including some rarefied varieties such as apple-cinammon, maple-vanilla, blackberry and agave honey. Not for nothing is the pancake flight with a trio of syrups one of the menu’s biggest movers.

Owners Tim Doherty and Ian MacClure are jazzed about the new room.

“We’re definitely excited,” MacClure said Tuesday as the place hummed during the debut breakfast. “It’s a great building with lots of tenants. There’s real hustle and bustle, and we’ve expanded the menu. It’s a much bigger space with a larger bar area.”

Speaking of which, the restaurant hopes to have a liquor license in 75 days, which should mean Bloody Mary brunches by mid-summer.

The address is 999 18th St., suite 105. One more thing: Syrup also offers a gluten-free menu.

Just add oil to your colors to create a marbleized effect on your Easter eggs.

Want some fun with your colored Easter eggs with what you have in your kitchen cabinet? All you need is food coloring, vinegar, vegetable oil and hot water. (I bought the kit because I was enticed by the marbleizing and turns out it’s just adding oil.)

You probably know the basic recipe: Mix a teaspoon or more of vinegar with hot water and drops of food coloring in a mug. Now the marbleizing. The directions I read said 3 tablespoons of oil, but you don’t need that much — a teaspoon will do. Add the oil to the cup and stir. Drop in the egg and move it around for 10-30 seconds depending on the color. Let dry. Important to let dry. Then repeat after the egg is dried, until you are satisfied.

I colored some solid first, then I let them dry. Then I started marbleizing. It’s fun and it won’t cost you a coloring kit.

OH, I didn’t want to toss the oily water down my kitchen drain, so I just tossed it on some weeds.

Seriously. Who says salad has to be chilled? I say heat it up. Salad greens that have seen some fire take on a whole new flavor profile: Bitter edges get rounded out, nuttiness is amplified and chlorophyllic notes deepen. Try it, you’ll see.

This crazy warm weather we’ve been having had me craving chicken wings, and grilling them makes them sorta healthy — if there is such a thing.

This is my favorite way of preparing wings. I parboiled the wings while I fired up the grill and assembled my spices. My key ingredient is Old Bay Seasoning. It’s not too salty and adds a nice punch to the wings. I also use garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. I had some Cajun seasoning that’s a bit salty for my taste so I used only a pinch/shake.

Tired of the same boiled corned beef and cabbage this St. Patrick's Day? Try somethng different.

Want to try something different on your plate this year for St. Patrick’s Day? I’m all for easy cooking, and lo and behold in “The Gourmet Slow Cooker” cookbook by Lynn Alley I found a recipe for Guinness pot roast.

Well, I was intrigued as I’ve been craving a good pot roast since my coworker brought in his leftovers for dinner last week.

One thing that kale chips do have in common with Fritos is that they make good happy-hour snacks. They also look great floating on top of a bowl of potato soup (hot or cold). And they take seasoning like a champ: This basic recipe calls for salt, but a little chili powder, a dash of celery seed, and, believe it or not, a pinch or two of sugar are nice too. (If you’re using sugar, add it after the kale has cooked but before it has cooled.)Read more…